The present invention relates to machines to manufacture soap bars.
Soap bars are manufactured by introducing into a die a block of relatively soft material from which the soap bar is to be formed. Typically, dies are provided with cavities trough which cooling water passes to cool the dies.
A problem with the above mentioned machines is that the soap bars formed frequently stick to the soap die because the current method of cooling has insufficient capacity and flow rate, particularly with glycerine/translucent soap. Still further, the above mentioned machines are relatively slow due to insufficient cooing capacity.
It is the object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the above discussed disadvantages.
There is disclosed herein a method to manufacture soap bars, said method including the steps of:
providing a first die member;
providing a second die member which co-operates with the first die member to provide a die cavity;
locating the die members so that they are spaced by a gap;
delivering to said gap a block of material from which the soap bar is to be formed;
bringing the die members together so that said material is enclosed in the cavity formed by the die members;
circulating a cooling fluid through the die members to cool the material;
separating the die members to expose the formed soap bar; and
ejecting the soap bar from between the die members; and wherein
said cooling fluid passes from a liquid phase to a gaseous phase within the die members.
There is further disclosed herein a machine to manufacture soap bars, said machine including:
a first die member;
a second die member to co-operate with the first die member to provide a die cavity;
means supporting the die members for relative movement therebetween a first position providing the die cavity and a second position at which the die members are spaced to permit material to form a soap bar to be delivered to a position between the die members and permit removal of a formed bar of soap; and
ducts within the die members through which a cooling fluid is to pass, said ducts including throttling means to cause expansion of the fluid within the die members, from a liquid phase to a gaseous phase.
Preferably, the above machine would have the ducts including passages extending to the exterior of the die members so that the cooling fluid vents to atmospheres surrounding the die members.
Preferably, the cooling fluid is nitrogen.